Barite on Quartz (ex Paul Zerfass Collection)

Maine Mine, Cordesse, Lucenay-l'Eveque, Saone-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte, France
Cabinet, 12.3 x 10.8 x 7.2 cm
Start Time: 05/24/2018 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
End Time: 05/31/2018 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
Auction Closed

Item Description

Large, robust, notably, thick blocky crystals of beautiful soft golden Barite (with soft blue zoning on the exterior of the crystals) measure up to a full 7.1 cm and are aesthetically set atop drusy sparkling Quartz crystals on matrix. This classic material from the Maine Mine was collected in the early 2000s, and is a far cry from the typical narrow prismatic crystals we've seen from this locality before. The piece is incredibly eye-catching, with dramatic form and for the size is in amazing condition. There are few small imperfections, but the piece is largely damage fee and displays beautifully from a few angles. This is certainly one of the best pieces of this particular material that we've had to offer, and would make a great addition to a Barite collection, a suite of French or European minerals or a nice cabinet display collection. From the collection of the long time, beloved, well-known French field collector, Paul Zerfass (Collection #550). Zerfass built this worldwide collection over nearly 50 years, many of which were personally collected. A biography featuring specimens from his collection (along with his face on the cover) is in the May - June 2017 issue of French mineral magazine, Le Regne Mineral. We have a .pdf copy of the article for anybody interested in reading it (though it's mostly in French). Just drop us a line and know that you'd like to have a copy.

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